Artist Residencies

During the 2024-25 season, State Theatre New Jersey will host two residences. STNJ’s artist residencies offered free of charge, let people get up close and personal with professional performing artists. Each year, students and adults participate in a variety of activities including workshops, masterclasses, and performances.

This fall, award-winning poet Alyea Pierce begins her second season as STNJ’s Poet-In-Residence. With over 20 years of poetry and performance experience, Pierce has collaborated with Disney, National Geographic, NPR, and TEDx. Her dynamic passion for poetry, history, and culture has led her to share her expertise with museums and institutions, including The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Planet Word in Washington, DC. As a National Geographic Explorer and Fulbright alumna, Pierce was featured on National Geographic’s podcast series', Into the Depths as well as The Soul of Music, using spoken word poetry and audio to amplify lost voices of history. Her poetry has been published online and in print, including the Guardian, New York Daily News, Obsidian, Caribbean Writer, and Routledge, to name a few. Pierce is a lecturer for the School of Arts and Sciences-English department and School of Communication & Information at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

This season, Pierce will lead writing workshops in schools, senior centers, residential treatment programs, and corporate offices throughout central New Jersey leading participants through an easy, inspiring process for unlocking creativity and self-expression.

In January 2025, Swing Makes You Sing!, an award-winning group on a mission to uplift, connect, and spread the joy of jazz music returns for a second season. The Swing Makes You Sing! musicians/teaching artists will host workshops in the New Brunswick Public Schools district for students from grades 4-12. The workshops explore the cultural and musical roots and elements of jazz. In addition, all participating students will attend an immersive and interactive assembly-style jazz concert and get a chance to participate in a traditional New Orleans second-line parade!